Sher Ali Khan

Sher Ali Khan (1825-21 February 1879) was the Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1863 to 1879, succeeding Dost Mohammed and preceding Mohammad Afdal Khan.

Biography
Sher Ali Khan was born in 1825 to Dost Mohammed, one of his 27 sons by 25 wives. Sher Ali seized power when his father died in 1863, but in 1866 he was ousted from power by his brother Mohammad Afdal Khan. Sher Ali regained power in 1868 after internecine warfare, and reigned as the new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan.

During his tenure as Amir, the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom attempted to pressure Afghanistan into allying with them against the other during the "Great Game". In 1878, he refused to receive a British mission under Neville Bowles Chamberlain, and he also turned back a September 1878 mission by Robert Bulwer-Lytton as they neared the Khyber Pass from British India. As a result, 40,000 British troops were sent to invade Afghanistan, starting the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Sher Ali Khan attempted to petition for Russian support, but he was turned down. When he returned to Mazari Sharif, he died there on 21 February 1879.